CHAMPAIGN, Ill – Head coach Bret Bielema’s father, Arnie Bielema, passed away at the age of 88 on Sunday morning. Bielema expressed the gratitude he felt for being able to spend time with him during his final moments, and reflected on the impact he had on his life and career.
“My father passed away peacefully this morning with family by his side,” said Bielema in a press statement on Sunday. “I was grateful to go see him on Thursday night and Friday morning of this past week and spend a memorable
last time with him.”
During Monday’s press conference, Bielema spoke on how walking onto the University of Iowa football team was one of the biggest decisions he ever made in his life, and how it was his father that guided him into making it.
“In my bed there was a letter from my dad that said ‘what you conceive in your mind and believe in your heart, you will achieve,’” Bielema said. “He convinced me to walk on … I think about where I am now, the decision he helped me make when I was 18 without helping me make it, has affected my life forever.”
Bielema worked his way up from walk-on to team captain to eventually becoming the team’s linebacker coach in 2001. After 16 years as a college coach and a couple years in the NFL, Bielema returned to his home state of Illinois in 2021 to lead the Fighting Illini.
Bielema explained that this decision meant more than just football, being this close to his parents was something he hadn’t experienced in his career.
“When I called my mom and dad and told them I was coming to the University of Illinois it was very cool,” Bielema said. “We knew that we were going to be in a proximity that we’ve never been able to have before.”
Bielema credits his parents for shaping him into the person and coach he is today, and is glad his father is finally reunited with his mother, Marilyn Bielema, who passed away in 2022.
“Good news is they’re back together now, and I think that’s all he’s been thinking about,” Bielema said.
